To begin, I must apologize for my tardiness for not starting this thread after like a couple or more posts already.Suo sounds just like "so" if anyone is wondering Some bg true story as to how or why I've made the plunge in points but still it'll be TLDR (maybe this will help new converts lurking around here just like me):-

~ I currently have a 3 PC setup:- 2 desktops on Win 7 Ultimate x86 and now this spare old Dell Inspiron 6000 w/ Pentium M 1.6Ghz + 512Mb RAM + Intel 915 on Linux Mint 9 LXDE.Soon to be added but no real ETA a 4th rig and a netbook.Got really sick and tired of Win 7's sluggishness for this lappy even when every fancy visual + numerous other systemic services' bells and whistles turned off.The Office 2010 upgrade from 2007 personal fiasco for me was the straw that broke the camel's back.I don't need that after for so long since Win 95 days.I trust that some or more longtime Win switchers/MSO users here are familiar with that.For now though the other Win 7 rigs stay as is for my weaning off process and at the moment I'm not ready yet to walk through the resident users of said rigs should I fully convert.It's just a matter of time.

~ You see lots of those "Can Linux haz Crysis?" memes,cheap shots and over exaggerated FUD driven sentiment over the years till something hit me.PC gamers are the loudest,most vocal and intolerant desktop Linux critics as a bunch.I was 1 of them and yet I'm not hardcore.I'm thinking partly that most are still young not that I like to play the age card.It's just that I'm done with per annum expensive cyclical full sys refreshes.When you're getting closer to "d-day" in a long term relationship your priorities shifts.I plan to move on to consoles and will only do so if I'm well equipped to learn about dual booting any sort of Linux distros on capable consoles whether it's current or future models.It adds value that way to me so consoles can function more in the hall or living room,it's not exactly that cheap of a setup either.Now when you've got your gaming dilemma sorted out,your conscience is clear,your mind opens up,the fear subsides and you'll see a little better.

~ A fellow member in this popular local IT forum here mentioned Mint so it kinda piqued my curiosity.At 1st as much as I'm no expert on all things Linux I was a little concerned.I had zero idea on what the hell is an "Ubuntu spin/derivative" effort/initiative/way of doing things and I had actually tried the noob-ish 30 minutes run of Ubuntu main previously.Results = not good.GNOME to me was nowhere faster than Win 7 on this aging lappy.So my initial assumption was "If Ubuntu wasn't really up to snuff then how is it gonna be better when other devs ADD things on top?".Of course I'm delighted that I'm wrong, I didn't factor in probable optimizations and proper SDLC goals as the natural objectives of every dev worth his or her salt.

Well I'm still just learning and glad that I'm actually enthusiastic and more so.I didn't even realize that I've ctrl-D'ed lots of Linux newbies' related sites every time I get back from work.

Hello to all of you Linux Mint team,gurus and experts I hope that everyone can bear with my upcoming and probably annoying questions.

Hello Suo_Eno,Welcome to Mint Forum There is a lot of useful information for new and not-so-new users here -> viewtopic.php?f=60&p=302358#p302358We have a Community site http://community.linuxmint.com/For real-time help there are IRC channels,open MintMenu>Internet>XChat and you will be automatically connected to #linuxmint-help and #linuxmint-chatHave fun with Mint

"Don't fix it if it ain't broken,don't break it if you can't fix it" HusseRegistered Linux User #511789

Thanks everyone for the walm welcome! ^_^" Yeah I'm still scratching my chin and forehead, trying to let these partitioning guides sink in before 10 comes out this December.Man the lot of you ppl sure knows your stuff.The color of envy is green...uhh..not mint green I mean.

If you ever get to the point at which the only thing keeping you from ditching Windows on your HD is that you still need it once in a great while, you can always install VirtualBox and run it at near-native speeds from inside Mint. There's WINE to make a lot of Windows apps run in *nix, too, but IMHO, running a virtual machine is less hassle.